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Working from Home - Staff Attendance Matters

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Minimal supervision roster Term 1 Wk 10 and 11

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In response to the swiftly changing educational environment, the Story Factory is developing a new series of Educator Development Sessions.

We love educators of all types (yes parents wading into the world of learning at home that includes you!) and really want to help during these difficult times, so we've decided to share some of the materials we use...and have our Storytellers talk you through the teaching process.

These free, thirty minute sessions are accessible, mini versions of our popular Teacher Professional Development courses, and will help you extend your skills at helping young people to write creatively.

The sessions will be delivered online (using Zoom) and be available to both teachers and parents.

FOR TEACHERS

Each session will include:

Fifteen minutes with one of our experienced Storytellers, who will step participants through the key points of the activity

Ways to incorporate our creative writing activities in online education models

Resources to use with your students

Fifteen minutes of question and discussion time with the Storyteller

Over the coming weeks we're planning to offer:

To register your interest, register your details using the button below.

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Online Learning for Parents and Teachers

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In response to the swiftly changing educational environment, the Story Factory is developing a new series of Educator Development Sessions . We love educators of all types (yes parents wading into the world of learning at home that includes you!)

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The great thing about creative writing is you can do it literally ANYWHERE, including at home.

Below we've compiled activities to help you and your children to unleash their imagination and create their own stories. To share what you and your kids dream up at home connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

The Story Generator - With this handy story generator, you can generate an infinite number of stories. It comes with the Story Factory guarantee - no two stories will be the same. Designed for kids of all ages.

How To Build Stories, Chapter One - This 'digibook' created for ABC Education explains the building block of storytelling. Chapter One explores the essential ingredients in any story. Designed for kids in Years 3 - 8.

How to Build Stories, Chapter Two - What is a story? This chapter tries to sort out exactly what is a story - whether it's fiction, non-fiction, a comic, a poem, a song, an article, a radio segment, a television episode or something else altogether.

How to Build Stories, Chapter Three - Character development. Characters need to keep readers excited, but they also need to think and feel in ways that we can all understand, and remind us of people in our own lives. How do you create characters like that?

How to Build Stories, Chapter Four - Plot. Learn about different story types and how to take your characters from the beginning to the end in a satisfying way.

How to Build Stories, Chapter Four - Genre. The best thing about story telling is that breaking the rules can make for the most satisfying stories.

How to Build Stories, Chapter Five - Language. Description can add flavour to stories and choosing the right descriptions, with the right sort of language, can turn your stories from three-day-old leftovers into haute cuisine.

How to Build Stories, Chapter Six - Heart. What's scarier than a blank page? Probably trying to fill that blank page with honest emotion.

ONLINE CLASSES

We will soon be launching new online workshops designed to respond to the changing education environment created by COVID19.

FOR STUDENTS: We will soon be launching an online space for young people experiencing marginalisation because of their socio-economic circumstances, or other circumstances, to work on creative writing at home, with the support our Story Factory Storytellers.
Read more about online workshops for students here.
FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS: If you're a teacher or a parent looking for support in creative writing and online learning, we're providing free online short courses designed to help support creative writing at home.
Read more about online workshops for teachers or parents here.

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The great thing about creative writing is you can do it literally ANYWHERE, including at home. Below we've compiled activities to help you and your children to unleash their imagination and create their own stories. To share what you and your kids dream up at home connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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How to work better together

In today's workplace the best work gets done by teams-teams of people with different backgrounds and talents across different departments, locations, and even time zones.

How do you ensure that everyone feels like part of the team? How do you easily share out information? And how do you operate fast, as if everyone were sitting in the same space?

Luckily, Microsoft Teams brings you and your coworkers together in a shared online workspace where you can chat, meet, share files, and work with business apps.

Are you ready for a team effort without the effort?

Did you find this content useful?

Yes No

Sources and disclaimer

¹ In-country data residency available for Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, and Australia.

© 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is provided "as is". Information and views expressed in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references may change without notice. You bear the risk of using it.

This document does not provide you with any legal rights to any intelectual property in any Microsoft product. You may copy and use this document for your internal, reference purposes.

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How to work better together In today's workplace the best work gets done by teams-teams of people with different backgrounds and talents across different departments, locations, and even time zones. How do you ensure that everyone feels like part of the team? How do you easily share out information?

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TED-Ed lessons on all subjects. TED-Ed celebrates the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Discover hundreds of animated lessons, create customized lessons, and share your big ideas.

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Online Teaching Tips

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Dr Tim Kitchen's Journal - Creativity in Education

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With online teaching and learning becoming the norm for so many teachers and students during the COVID-19 climate, it is important to be aware of what makes an engaging, creative and effective web-based teaching and learning experience.

Teaching online is different to teaching face to face. It involves a skill set that develops with experience. It is more like being a live TV or radio presenter and producer then it is being a schoolteacher or university lecturer. So don't worry if you are struggling in this new form of pedagogy, most educators will be. Even those of us who were early adopters find it a challenge to produce the perfect online lesson. Most students, parents and colleagues will be patient and supportive to teachers who are having a go and doing their best with the technologies that are available to them.

This article provides some tips and tricks to help educators develop their online communication skills and make the teaching as engaging and effective as possible.
Help is closer than you may think
In many cases, your students are used to communicating, sharing and playing games online so this is not a new world for them. Don't be scared to ask them for help if you are feeling overwhelmed. You may even find it helpful to set up a roster of key students who are provided with hosting rights. They can then manage the technology while you focus on the pedagogy.
What online teaching platform is best?
There are many web-based communication platforms that teachers are using globally to conduct online lessons. Many school systems and universities have purchased specific online collaboration and conferencing tools such, MS Teams, Zoom, GoToWebinar, BlueJeans, Blackboard Collaborate and Adobe Connect. Some systems are designed for education and training and others are designed as video conferencing tools for small and large businesses. Some are part of an establish Learning Management System, others are stand alone.

There are free (or initially free) versions of the above solutions and other example such as Google Hangouts, Skype and GoToMeeting.

Whichever system you use, make sure it has at least the following features:

video & audio streaming,

live chatting

the ability to share screens

a way of uploading and playing video content (beyond sharing a screen)

a way of seeing the names of the participants

a way of muting or disabling participants web-cam

Preparing for an online lesson
There are similarities between an effective online teaching experience, a live TV production and a talk-back radio show. One is that they all require preparation to be effective.

Here are some preparation tips:

Contact your students in advance via email to ensure they know how to access the site and when the sessions are taking place. Keeping to the usual school/university timetable is advisable to help maintain a normal routine for everyone.

Provide your class with some video content or reading to digest in advance of the session. Follow a flipped learning model of teaching so that your time with the students is not all about content delivery and the time you do have with the class online can be spent enhancing what the students have already discovered.

Prepare a series of short video resources in advance of each session to help breakup the content delivery. These can be created with simple to use video editing tools like the free Spark Video or Adobe Premiere Rush. This means less talking for you and hopefully more interest for your students.

Have some polls/quizzes prepared in advance or run them via the chat feature throughout the session to help encourage the engagement.

Create a slide deck with PowerPoint, Keynote or Acrobat that you can use to guide the students through the main teaching points. If your online portal is able to upload PDF and Video content then it becomes a better presentations experience then always sharing a screen, especially if you or your students are running on low Internet bandwidth.

Turn off notifications on your devices and remove any other potential distractions

Ask your family members if they could try and avoid Internet based activities that take up a lot of bandwidth like streaming videos.

Use of the webcam & microphone
If you are in a quiet room, you can probably get away with just using the computer's internal mic. However, in most cases it is best to use a headset with mic. The closer the mic is to the teacher's mouth, the clearer the audio will be. I have found the Apple headphones that come with most iPhones to be as good (if not better) than some expensive USB mics that I have tested. However, I haven't tested them on a Windows based laptop. Bluetooth headphones & mics are generally fine but I recommend the plug in version for sustained quality and reliability.

It's often good to start a session by encouraging the students to open up their webcams but not their microphones. Having more than one person speaking at once is never a great experience, but seeing everyone (if the system allows) can be a fun way to start. It also helps establish a feeling of community which many of the students and yourself may be craving.

When it is time to start the teaching time, encourage the students to mute their cameras as well as their mics. The student can do most of their interactions via the chat feature. Occasionally, encourage the students to un-mute their webcams so that they can all be seen. This helps you to know that they are all still on-task and engaged. Take a note of the students who are not responding and chase them up via email later to check on them. They may be totally disengaged in the process or they may not have access to a webcam.

Some students will rely on seeing their teacher's mouth in order to read their lips. So, when you are on camera, think about the framing and fill the screen with a centered mid-shot. Body language, especially hand gestures can also help a student understand content better, so make sure the students can see your head, shoulders, torso and arms. And ensure the top of your head is at the top of the frame.

Look at your webcam most of the time when you are presenting. Treat the camera as someone you are talking to. Eye contact is a powerful communication technique.

Ensure that there is plenty of light (natural light is best) behind or to the side of the webcam. Try to avoid pointing the camera into a light source such as a window with open curtains or blinds during the day. This will help to provide the best possible image quality. Also have a think about the background and make sure it is not distracting. Some systems like MS Teams provide a feature that blurs out the background.
Monitor your session
During most sessions, you will log into the system as the host. This usually provides you with access to extra features and a different screen layout to the guests. Also, when you share your screen, you generally lose access to the chat and other features.

If you can, it is wise to log in as a guest on a second device like your smart phone, tablet or second laptop (if you have one). This way you can monitor what your students are seeing and keep an eye on the chat. It is easy to forget that you are sharing your screen when you don't want to. By having a monitor next to your main screen, you can see at a glance what you are presenting.

Having a second monitoring device also allows you to test that your audio is working. However, there will be a slight delay in your audio so, once tested, keep the volume of your second device down to zero to avoid any potential annoying audio feedback issues.
Flow of the lesson
Introduce each session with an interaction activity such as a quiz via the chat feature or a set of poll questions (if available). This will help the students to realise it is two-way communication experience rather than a podcast, YouTube or TV presentation.

Provide a slide early in the session that outlines the aim and the planned objectives so that everyone is aware of what is expected.

When verbally presenting the main content, mix it with a variety of images, animations and video content. Do some research and have a look at how live TV presenters share content and learn from the way they mix audio content with visual content.

Keep an eye on the chat when possible and encourage students to ask questions and make comments throughout the session. Put down some ground rules about appropriate chatting etiquette such as never put anyone down and keep the discussions relevant and on-task. Assign one of the students to monitor the chat when you are presenting and allow breaks so that they can share any questions or feedback that you may have missed. You may find that some of your usually more quiet and shy students are more confident in taking part in discussions via a chat pod.

Encourage students to also email questions, especially if they are embarrassed to use the chat feature. Assure the students that you are happy to connect with them via email if they need any individualised assistance.

After every 10 minutes or so, ask your students to give you feedback via the chat feature. This is a great way to monitor engagement.
Recording
You don't need to record the whole lesson, students are more likely to watch back short video segments. Make sure you record important teaching moments so that students who miss the live session can still catch up and students who were at the live session can re-look at content at their leisure.

Use you school learning management system (LMS) as the portal to archive all the links to the recordings. If your school does not have an LMS, create a Spark Page or a Google Site that can be dedicated to storing the key resources for each subject/topic.

The more sessions you run, the easier they become. I encourage your to practice a few time before going live and look back at the records of your practice sessions.`
When this crisis is over

The COVID-19 crisis is forcing a lot of change for a lot of educators and students. For a number of teachers, this may be the first time they have used video and online technologies as a major communication tool. Many will be going through a steep learning curve in a short space of time.

At some point, schools and universities will be back to a mainly face to face operation but the new skills developed during this time can continue to be used in a blended learning mode, which will benefit future learning and teaching experiences and help prepare students for a future workplace where online communication is vital in many industries.

Let's look at the positives and use this experience as a time to develop new digital literacy, communication and creativity skills among ourselves, our peers and our students.
Summary of tips

Think of you lesson as a live radio or TV broadcast

Don't stress when things go wrong, in most cases the students will be patient and supportive

If in doubt, ask a student to help manage the technology for you. Don't be scared to a key student hosting rights.

Make sure your students know the log in process and the time of your live sessions.

Keeping to the usual timetable is recommended

Provide video or other resources in advance for student to digest prior to the session. Follow a Flipped Learning model.

Use lots of video content. Make up your own videos and get student to do likewise to share their learning

Break up the session with chat responses, quizzes an polls

Prepare slides with images and key text to progress through the session

Avoid distractions like your phone and other family members

Use a head-set

Open webcams at the start of a session but not mics

One person speaking at a time

Make sure student can see your mouth & arms

Place your head at the top of the frame and look at the camera when talking

Light should be behind or to the side of the camera, not behind you

Monitor the session with a second device if possible Thant is signed in a a guest

Give students opportunities to share with you via email. Not all students will want to use the chat feature

Record key parts of the session, not the whole event and store the recordings & other resources on your LMS or equivalent

Practice makes perfect

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Extra resources

During the COVID-19 crisis, I am running free weekly webinars with a focus on developing creative online teaching experiences for students. Whatch me in action to see how I conduct an online session and encourage your colleagues to join.

Adobe Connect users - click here for a user guide I recently made for teachers who use Adobe Connect which is currently free for 90 days during this COVID-19 climate.

Adobe EduTips - click here to access a growing set of resources which are focused on how to use Adobe Creative Cloud apps to enhance both face to face and online teaching and learning.

The Adobe Distance Learning Resources - The Adobe Education Team have assembled these resources and learning opportunities to help educators engage remote students through online learning.

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More reading ...

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Presenting engaging and creative online teaching & learning experiences

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With online teaching and learning becoming the norm for so many teachers and students during the COVID-19 climate, it is important to be aware of what makes an engaging, creative and effective web-based teaching and learning experience. Teaching online is different to teaching face to face.

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English Teachers Association NSW The English Teachers' Association of NSW is a professional association of teachers committed to stimulating teaching and learning in English. We seek to present examples of best practice in the profession to promote rich learning experiences for teachers and students.

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Sentral Login :: Albion Park High School

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McSweeney's Online Faculty Meeting thread

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"Okay, let's get started, folks. We're trying to keep you in the loop-"
"Wait, there's a lot of background noise. You need a mic."
"I've lost all sound since a minute after joining the group."

"Reload the page, everyone! That way, we can recoup-"
"Someone tell the IT guy reloading isn't working. It's like..."
"Okay, let's try again, folks. We're trying to close the loop-"

"Wait, I don't have sound, but I don't know how to unmute!"
"Press the little icon at the corner until there's no strike..."
"I've lost sound again since coming back together as a group."

"Tell IT I can hear nothing." "Did you mute?" "I didn't mute"
"I've logged back in and now can't see video. And move closer to the mic."
"Okay, folks-one more time. Log out, then log in again and reboot."

"So, leave the meeting, rejoin, then turn off the computer? Shoot!"
"No, no. Just reboot the program" "It's not rebooting right."
"I've lost sound again since coming back together as a group"

"I can hear nothing" "Refresh the page" "Uncheck the boxes." "Reboot"
"Bye. That was confidence-building." "No, don't go-just uncheck your mic!"
"Let's try this again, folks. I'll send a new meeting link. Meanwhile, reboot"
"I lost sound again since coming back together as a group."

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Online Faculty Meeting Message Thread Villanelle

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"Okay, let's get started, folks. We're trying to keep you in the loop-" "Wait, there's a lot of background noise. You need a mic." "I've lost all sound since a minute after joining the group." "Reload the page, everyone! That way, we can recoup-" "Someone tell the IT guy reloading isn't working.

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An Australian teacher in Hong Kong tells of her experiences.

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About 12 weeks ago I arrived in Hong Kong ready to begin my new teaching adventure until Coronavirus reared it's ugly head. Here in Hong Kong we were one of the first countries on high alert for Coronavirus, and put into lockdown. Masks quickly became the norm and hand sanitiser was hard to come by. The life I had only just started to create was thrown into chaos.

My start to the school year was anything but traditional, I had about three days Professional Development and had met around 60% of staff before ALL schools in Hong Kong were closed and classes suspended. Our remaining days of Professional Development were spent quickly up-skilling staff on ways to deliver Online Teaching and Learning.

As a teacher, those first few days of the new school year are usually exciting but equally nerve wracking. We want to set high expectations and show our students we mean business, but we simultaneously want to connect and hopefully build relationships which will grow over the coming days, weeks and years.

For me Day 1 of Term 1 was something I had never experienced before, all of my four lessons were videos which I uploaded to Google Classroom. I had created the videos the night before and watched them over and over, hating the way I sounded and the little twitch my nose made when I pronounced certain words. I had put on make-up and thoughtfully considered what I wore. The hope was that this would only be temporary and I would meet my students in person in just a few weeks.

It is now 9 weeks later and my students are still just faces on a screen. Although, I can promise you, I now don't re-watch any of my videos, the make-up is non existent and my hair may or may not have been washed in the past five days.

As this pandemic has slowly consumed the world, I have been a bystander on many social media platforms trying not to offend or appear condescending to any teachers who may be new to teaching online. I have watched many "boomers" struggle with the intricacies of technology and seen desperate appeals for support and assistance.

So, I have decided to do my part. Below are just a few idea, tips, tricks and suggestions that have helped me over the past 9 weeks and I am hoping they will help someone else too.

Remember our students are people too.
All the emotions, the uncertainty, the anxiety, and feelings of helplessness that we are consumed by, they are feeling as well. Give them a break. Yes, they need to learn and yes they need to complete the tasks but cut them some slack. Try not to increase your expectations of student work output, remember we are all in the same situation. Set work with the hope that it will get done, but if it doesn't maybe a quick email asking why, is a better approach than reprimanding a student.

Google Classroom.
I have been using Google Classroom for the past 4 years. It is an amazing tool. You can post comments, assignments, create forms, and quizzes which mark themselves.
But a few tips:
- Set assignments with Due Dates - this will help students manage their time
- Use the topics - this will make work easier for students to find
- When you upload a Google Doc the permissions are set to view only. Students need to make a copy to be able to edit the document (they can't change your original)
- If you used Google Calendar, link it with your Google Classroom - this way you can schedule online meetings and it will invite all students in the Google Classroom.

Google Meets or Zoom.
I have found both really great platforms for online face to face lessons. My personal preference is Zoom as the teacher has more control. In Google Meets students can mute each other (and the teacher). Also, Google Meet doesn't allow you to view your whole class on the one screen where as Zoom has a gallery view which I much prefer. The basic free Zoom is more than enough if you don't have a licence, although you are limited to 40mins.
Encourage your students to have both their camera and microphone on - it can be disheartening to ask a question and get nothing from your audience. So set this as an expectation from the beginning.

Video Recordings.
Use them! Don't get caught up on how you look or how much fidget when you speak. I know I did in the first few weeks but I have quickly learnt not to worry about it. Avoid re-watching yourself or doing retakes of videos, it's important for our students to see us as vulnerable in this time. Recordings are a great tool as students can watch them back as many times as needed in order to understand what is being said. Screencast-O-Matic is great for screen recording videos of instruction as you can have just you, just the screen, or both

Lesson structure.
Before getting too far ahead of yourself setting excessive amounts of work and expecting students to be engaged with you for a 60minute face to face lesson, take a step back and consider how you usually teach. I don't think many of us stand and deliver lesson content for a whole lesson. It's usually 10-15mins of instructions, time for students to work or complete tasks and then 5-10mins of bringing the learning all together. Replicate this! Don't expect your students to be online staring at you for the whole lesson. We want to replicate our normal day to day as much as possible. You may also choose to video your instructions and upload to Google Classroom if you a following an asynchronous model.

Contact time.
Depending on whether your school has decided on a synchronous or asynchronous model will dictate how much contact time you have with your students. I have found it easier to set tasks which may take multiple lessons as this allows me to manage my students and my lessons better. Also, it means less screen-time for the students. Say you have four 1hr periods with a certain year group each week - don't plan for four 1hr face to face lessons.
Have a face to face video call for lesson 1, give instructions, answer questions and set them off to work for the remainder of that lesson and lesson 2. You can then choose to be available online for help if they need during lesson 2 time. I call this a Zoom drop-in. Students will have the link to the Zoom and if they want to have a chat or ask questions they log on and you are there. Lesson 3 will be your next face to face. You will discuss the work they have completed during lesson 1 and 2. You might go through answers or begin to teach the next topic. Ultimately, you don't need to be face to face with your students for 100% of your lesson time - it's not realistic or manageable for you or your students. Have some faith in your students and give them responsibility over their own learning.

Feedback.
Yes, feedback is important but as a high school teacher I don't "mark" my students books every lesson. We check they are on track and ensure they are completing the work but written feedback isn't provided and work isn't "submitted" every lesson. Consider this when students are handing in work on Google Classroom. It's important to acknowledge what they have done and maybe make a brief comment - but detailed feedback is not required on every task. It is just not manageable.

Our students are technology experts.
Allow them some autonomy is this situation - this is their wheelhouse. Our students are digital natives they use technology everyday to communicate with each other and the world around them. Be open to them submitting work in different mediums. Allow them to record videos, Tik Toks, create movies or podcasts. Give your students some freedom in this situation, you will be surprised at what they can do.

Keep it Simple.
Don't bury yourself trying to learn all the new digital platforms, the new apps and the most engaging video tools. Do the best with what you know and what you have access to. Try and keep everything streamlined and consistent because we don't know how long this will need to be maintained.

Be kind to yourself and each other.
We are just doing the best we can. We know this, and our students know this. Keep smiling and showing up because right now that's what our students need. Be the familiar face on their screen, ask how their day has been and remind them that we are all in this together. Everyone's world has been thrown upside down and inside out and we need to support each other through it.

I know I am blessed to work in a school where all my students have access to technology and the internet, and I know many of you do not have the same luxury. Some of this advice may or may not be relevant to everyone but all I hoping is that something I have shared may assist if you struggling to adapt to teaching during the time of Covid-19!

Bec xx

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About 12 weeks ago I arrived in Hong Kong ready to begin my new teaching adventure until Coronavirus reared it's ugly head. Here in Hong Kong we were one of the first countries on high alert for Coronavirus, and put into lockdown. Masks quickly became the norm and hand sanitiser was hard to come by.

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Online roll Marking Process for Google Classrooms

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More than ever before, the world is searching for 'how do teachers do it.' Whether in a classroom or at home, we are grateful to everyone helping to keep students learning.

To teachers everywhere, thank you for all that you do.

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Giving teachers and families the tools and tips they need to help keep students learning.

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This article is for people with visual impairments who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home.

Notes:

New Office 365 features are released gradually to Office 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.

This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.

This topic assumes that you are using an iPhone. Some navigation and gestures might be different for an iPad.

Turn on VoiceOver

Note: This topic assumes you're using the default gestures, not customized AssistiveTouch settings.

1. Press the Home button.

2. Tap Settings, tap General, tap Accessibility, and then tap VoiceOver.

3. Turn on VoiceOver.

Create a Home button shortcut to VoiceOver

1. Press the Home button.

2. Tap Settings, tap General, and then tap Accessibility.

3. Scroll down and then tap Accessibility Shortcut.

4. Tap VoiceOver.

To use the shortcut to turn VoiceOver on or off, triple-tap the Home button.

Open Immersive Reader

1. After capturing and editing an image in Office Lens, swipe right or left until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe right or left until you hear "Immersive Reader button," and then double-tap the screen. It can take a few moments to scan texts from images, so don't worry if nothing happens immediately.

Work with Immersive Reader

When Immersive Reader has opened, the screen shows the text from the images you scanned. Do one of the following:

To have the page dictated to you, swipe right or left until you hear "Play button," and then double-tap the screen. Each word is highlighted as the narrator recites the document aloud.

To pause the dictation, swipe right or left until you hear "Pause button," and then double-tap the screen.

To skip some of the audio and start reading from the bottom of the page, swipe right or left until you hear "Skip forward button," and then double-tap the screen.

To rewind the audio, swipe right or left until you hear "Rewind button," and then double-tap the screen.

The playback experience works best in English.

Change the text settings

The Immersive Reader has several options to help you consume the text on the screen in the way that you want to. To open the text settings, swipe right or left until you hear "Text button," double-tap the screen, and do one of the following:

To change the Wide Text Spacing toggle setting, double-tap the screen. This setting defines the font spacing. Regular spacing is used in most books and documents. Wide spacing, however, increases the space between letters, as well as the space between lines.

To change the text size, swipe right or left until you hear "Increase text size" or "Decrease text size," and double-tap the screen to increase or decrease the size by a small amount.

Try the text size settings in combination with the text spacing until you find a combination that works for you.

Voice options

To change the speaking speed of Immersive Reader, swipe right or left until you hear "Speak button," double-tap the screen, and swipe up or down to adjust the speed in the Speaking Rate slider. The slider lets you control the speed to your personal preference. To dismiss the slider popup, tap the screen. When you hear "Dismiss popup", double-tap the screen.

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This article is for people with visual impairments who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home. Notes: New Office 365 features are released gradually to Office 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet.

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Learning Tools with Microsoft Word

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Improve Reading & Writing - Microsoft Education

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Microsoft Learning Tools are free tools that improve reading and writing for learners regardless of their age or ability.

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Edutopia

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The thought ended almost before it started: "This is so overwhelming." It was all one teacher managed to type before she stopped short, vexed into silence, perhaps, by the sheer size of the problem. In the pregnant pause that followed, undoubtedly, every teacher tracking the unspooling thread-about the dizzying, rapidly escalating viral crisis that was closing schools across the country-recognized the chasm they were all facing as well, and scrambled to fill in the blank.

In the next few hours, over 500 teachers joined two Facebook conversations about teaching during the coronavirus pandemic, spilling out their concerns and anxieties: What will we do if the schools close for months? How can I shift to online learning if we're closing tomorrow, or even in a few hours? How will special education students be cared for, and IEPs administered? What about children who have no internet access, or who will be required, as Keith Schoch thoughtfully noted, to "become de facto babysitters" for their brothers and sisters. "There is no digital divide, but there is a digital abyss, and America's rural poor are living at the bottom of it," said Anne Larsen, with devastating concision. What if, in the end, the school systems decide that online learning is working just fine, and never reopen?

The panic was all perfectly understandable.

But there were plenty of teachers in the mix who had weeks of crisis experience under their belts by that time-several in Hong Kong and Italy and the state of Washington, for example-and others who had long careers in online and distance learning. In the end, too, there were many fantastic, highly creative teachers providing strategies as fast as the obstacles appeared.

At the highest level, a shift in mindset would be required-even the most optimistic educators conceded the point. There are plenty of strategies and tactics we're covering at Edutopia-and we'll continue to-but here are the crucial emotional and psychological scaffolds that our audience agreed would be needed to teach in this new paradigm.

Expect Trial... and Plenty of Error

Start by being reasonable with yourself. It is, in fact, impossible to shift to distance learning overnight without lots of trial and error. Expect it, plan for it, and do your best to make peace with it.

"I can tell you, now that we're in week 7 of online learning, that much of what you will do will be trial and error," wrote Stacy Rausch Keevan, who was teaching in Hong Kong. "Don't stress about that-it won't do you any good. For my middle school English and humanities classes, I'm offering the same lessons I would normally do live, but in smaller doses."

Acknowledge the Extraordinary

Reset your baseline. We're all operating in the shadow of a global pandemic, and it is disorienting and limiting. Business as usual is unrealistic.

The real "points to consider" are not "the strict adherence to 'regular' conditions and norms," wrote Amy Rheault-Heafield in a reply to a question about how to structure distance learning like more typical learning experiences, "but how to provide a rich experience to all learners who are now without 'traditional' teachers standing beside them in classes."

So while you should try to provide "meaningful activities," cautioned elementary teacher John Thomas, "we should remember that on short notice-and because many of us have limited PD utilizing these tools-we can't tackle everything immediately. In other words, we should give ourselves the time and the permission to figure this out."

Reduce the Workload (for Yourself and Your Students)

If your district allows it, you should plan to do less. Students won't be able to work as productively, anyway-so if you can't scale back you'll be sending them work they cannot do-and your own life and family need added care.

"Feedback from students and families over the last 10 days in Italy is 'less is more,'" commented Jo Gillespie. "Consider that parents are trying to work from home, and siblings are vying for computer and Wi-Fi time. Try Google quizzes using Forms, a reading log, some short live sessions with teachers and classmates, maybe vocabulary extension, maths and geometry problems (but not too many). And that's probably enough."

And Keevan, the teacher in Hong Kong with weeks of experience, confirmed that time and distance play funny games during a crisis: "What would normally take you one class period to teach in the classroom will probably take you twice as long."

No Person Is an Island

Humans are social animals. Working from home, or worse, from quarantine, is isolating and often depressing for both teachers and students.

Make a concerted effort to speak to other colleagues and trusted professionals to provide emotional and psychological context to your work. Teaching at this moment is extraordinarily hard, and you'll need the virtual company of people who are experiencing what you are.

And don't forget to "reach out to students as often as you can," said Keevan, who still teaches classes live despite a (slightly inconvenient!) 13-hour time difference. Or you can facilitate peer-to-peer communication. John Thomas assigns pen pals in his first- and second-grade classes, so that kids with no internet can feel like they belong.

Everyone Thinks They Can't-Before They Can

Some degree of pessimism and self-doubt comes with the territory. Teachers in the Facebook thread advised more perspective-taking and being more patient with yourself: You know how to teach, and you will figure this out in time.

"We are in week 7 and I have three children of my own at home," wrote Salecia Host, a teacher in Tianjin, China, reflecting on the arc of her emotional response to the crisis. "Just take it day by day. It gets less overwhelming and more routine."

Try to remain calm-though you'll have a few moments where that goes out the window-and keep plugging away: "Being open-minded and flexible is key," said Kaz Wilson, who also works in China. "Everyone thinks you can't until you pause, talk it out with folks who are doing it, and know that you'll get through it."

Mind the Gap

Your work will be hard, but there are students facing more severe challenges. Students with no internet or no computer will need support, as will those with learning differences or other circumstances that make distance learning especially difficult. Supporting these students was on almost everyone's mind-it came up dozens of times in the Facebook thread.

"I'm in Italy. Our schools closed a few weeks ago without any previous warning. We shifted to online immediately. It is hard and exhausting," admitted Eleonora Borromeo, before providing a ray of hope. "Equity is an issue. Assessment is an issue. But the students are doing their best and giving us the strength to go on."

Solutions from our audience of teachers focused on the old analog approaches: paper-and-pencil tasks, workbooks and activity packets that can be mailed home, and updating parents and students via phone calls daily.

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Teaching Through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment

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The thought ended almost before it started: "This is so overwhelming." It was all one teacher managed to type before she stopped short, vexed into silence, perhaps, by the sheer size of the problem.

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Resources and strategies for schools, teachers and parents to support delivery of learning to students who are temporarily unable to attend school.

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Advice for school communities

The NSW Department of Education is introducing proactive measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 in our schools.

The Premier has announced that from Tuesday 24 March parents are encouraged to keep their children at home and access their school's learning from home programs.

These measures have been put in place to help minimise the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in NSW.

We continue to work closely with NSW Health and the Australian Government to monitor and respond to developments and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.

If you or your child is unwell with a respiratory illness, stay at home until symptoms clear up.

The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is the same way you would protect yourself from catching flu or other respiratory illnesses. Please refer to teacher resources on the importance of handwashing.

The Department of Education is working closely with NSW Health in responding to COVID-19 cases. Schools will take action in accordance with NSW Health advice on a confirmed case of COVID-19 where there has been an impact on a school. All other confirmed cases are a personal matter for those involved and they will be managed directly by NSW Health. People assessed as being a 'close contact' of a member of the community are identified and contacted by NSW Health and given appropriate advice.

Learning from home

Explore the department's learning from home resources for teachers and parents to support both online and offline learning for all students.

Advice for staff

Read the COVID-19 - advice for staff (staff only) for up-to-date information about:

leave arrangements

school operations

flexible working.

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The NSW Department of Education is introducing proactive measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 in our schools. The Premier has announced that from Tuesday 24 March parents are encouraged to keep their children at home and access their school's learning from home programs. These measures have been put in place to help minimise the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in NSW.

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StoriumEDU uses the power of play to help teachers turn their students into motivated writers.

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Shakespeare Reloaded provides activities and resources for refreshing our teaching and learning of Shakespeare. Some of these activities are designed for teachers to try in the classroom (the ). The newest addition to the Shakespeare Reloaded activities, Bard Blitz and Kings' Games), while others facilitate exploration of ideas with colleagues and peers (the Shakespeare Imaginarium Shakeserendipity, is designed for both classroom teaching and teacher personal development.

All of these activities are flexible and user-friendly. Each has been trialled with teachers and students at our partner school, Barker College.

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Shakespeare Reloaded provides activities and resources for refreshing our teaching and learning of Shakespeare. Some of these activities are designed for teachers to try in the classroom (the ). The newest addition to the Shakespeare Reloaded activities, Bard Blitz and Kings' Games), while others facilitate exploration of ideas with colleagues and peers (the Shakespeare Imaginarium Shakeserendipity, is designed for both classroom teaching and teacher personal development.

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TED-Ed lessons on the subject Literature & Language. TED-Ed celebrates the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Discover hundreds of animated lessons, create customized lessons, and share your big ideas.

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Crash Course is one of the best ways to educate yourself, your classmates, and your family on YouTube!

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As the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation continues across the UK, we recognise that many schools will be closed, and many parents will be looking for ways to keep their children meaningfully occupied outside of school time.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

The benefits of movement in the classroom aren't limited to younger students. Pairing new words and concepts with gestures or dance moves locks in understanding-and active brain breaks prime students to learn even more.

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A free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education.

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2020 HSC is going ahead | NSW Education Standards

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Online learning - Webinars and Recordings

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Keen to boost your skills in creating and running a Digital Classroom? These webinars and recordings are a great way to begin!

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How to email your class students from within Sentral

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Novel coronavirus | NSW Education Standards

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NESA's latest advice to schools about the Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

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Rainbow frequency Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplas h

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Creating an editable PDF form from a Word or existing PDF

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Creating an editable PDF form from a Word or existing PDF

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This Circular applies in response to COVID-19 as provided for in the NSW Human Influenza Pandemic Plan: A Sub Plan of the NSW State Emergency Management Plan and will be reviewed by 1 June 2020.

Where employees who are not directly involved in the pandemic response cannot be gainfully employed at their normal place of work, remotely from home or at another office of the agency, such employees, where feasible and appropriate, may be temporarily required to work in another role within the same agency or in another government agency pursuant to relevant legislative provisions.
Unable to work due to illness
If an employee is sick, current sick leave entitlements and conditions apply. Where sick leave is exhausted, Agency heads may grant special sick leave on a case by case basis.
Working flexibly
Each agency, in accordance with its business continuity plan, is to operate as close to normal as possible during the COVID-19 outbreak, taking account of any protection measures recommended by NSW Health.

Unless employees are on approved leave (e.g. sick, annual, family and community services, special) during the COVID-19 outbreak they are to undertake their normal duties either at their usual workplace, utilising flexible working arrangements at home, or at an alternate location.

Where employees are working from home whilst also providing care to a family member, it is expected employees can balance caring responsibilities with their ability to undertake productive work, or other leave provisions can apply.

Where there is a requirement to ensure that each workplace remains open at all stages, agencies are to deploy employees in other areas of the business where possible. Employees may be:

required to undertake different work (most likely for essential work) as directed in their own agency; or

temporarily assigned to other government agencies to assist priority service delivery by those agencies pursuant to relevant legislative provisions.

Exclusion from the workplace
Where an employee is not sick but is directed not to attend the workplace due to isolation requirements, agencies should identify options for employees to work from home during the quarantine period. Where work is unable to be provided to these employees, they are to be paid as normal and are placed on paid special leave for up to 20 days.
Unable to work
Up to 20 days paid special leave will be provided, before other leave entitlements need to be accessed, to employees who are unable to work because they are:

caring for sick family members;

caring for family members due to closure of schools and caring facilities; or

unable to attend work due to transport disruptions.

After the 20 days of special leave has been used, employees may access accrued leave entitlements (sick, annual, family and community services, extended/long service leave).
Workplace is closed
Where the workplace is closed, flexible work arrangements should be considered either at home or from another office location. Where work is unable to be provided to these employees, they are to be paid as normal and are placed on paid special leave.
Work Health & Safety (WHS)
All government agencies will continue to have a primary duty of care under section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS Act) where relevant, as well as other obligations under the WHS Act generally.

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C2020-01 Employment Arrangements during COVID-19

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This Circular applies in response to COVID-19 as provided for in the NSW Human Influenza Pandemic Plan: A Sub Plan of the NSW State Emergency Management Plan and will be reviewed by 1 June 2020.

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Parents and teachers alike can access Cool Australia lessons to support student learning in this unique and challenging environment.

Cool Australia educational materials are free units of work and lesson plans that are learning 'recipes' to help guide teaching. They include step-by-step instructions, worksheets, relevant curriculum mapping and real-world content parents can relate to, keeping learning stress free and fun.

To help reduce the stress, we have selected some of our favourite topics and lessons that can be easily adapted to the home environment. Parents can sign up and access downloadable worksheets and teaching notes to help guide conversations in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.

Teachers are welcome to share our website with parents directly or download specific resources and share through your existing classroom tools - whatever option suits your classroom best. Parents who need help signing up can access our Parent Registration help page. Our team are currently working remotely and available to support both teachers and parents via email [email protected]

Inspire wonder and curiosity with these fun, DIY science activities.

Parents can access the lessons plans or check out the student-friendly Snappy Science Digital Library.

This Math unit teaches students how to evaluate the sugar content of the food that they're eating by understanding the Nutrition Information Panel.

Check out the full set of lessons on the Impacts of Sugar with options for Primary and Secondary.

We have lots of lessons that let kids explore their natural environment and are great for parents with younger children.

While lessons are mapped to year level curriculum, many lessons can be easily adapted to different ages. These lessons can get the whole family exploring the backyard in a new way and parents can easily use worksheets to allow for learning at individual age levels.

Early Learning Nature Detective - Go on a nature hunt in the backyard and document your findings.

Years 1 & 2 Nature Survey - Introduce some maths - getting kids to identify, tally and graph wildlife. Remember to look under rocks, in the trees and on the leaves. There are many mini beasts in our own backyard if we look closely.

Years 3 & 4 Outdoor Leaf Bowl - Explore the natural patterns in the backyard and create a Visual Arts project. Parents can substitute other materials and create a 3D artwork or drawing.

Years 5 & 6 Secret Garden - Kids can create a map, using grid references, explore the natural environment, and create directions. Lessons cover Maths and Geography.

Thinking about the world differently

There are some great programs that harness creativity and challenge both primary and secondary students to think about the world around them in a different way. Here are a few that we thought might motivate students working remotely and also allow teachers and parents to create more in-depth projects and extend topics as needed.

Under the Spotlight

While students may not be at school on 27 March for Schools Earth Hour Day, flipped lessons are a fantastic way to get secondary students thinking about the topic.
Flipped Lessons - Tuning in to Climate Change Are your neighbours doing it better?
For more lessons, select Earth Hour in our curriculum search.

This documentary can be enjoyed by parents and students alike. It encourages students to harness creativity and innovation, engaging with the world around them to develop positive, action-driven solutions.

2040 is a story of hope that looks at the very real possibility that humanity could reverse global warming and improve the lives of every living thing in the process. It is a positive vision of what 'could be' that will give your students hope for the future.

There are a large number of lessons available for all year levels, and teachers can set students research projects using the resources available in our digital library.

This is a topic that the whole family can explore! Find out more.

Competitions

Win a $5,000 JB Hi-Fi Gift Card!

You don't have to be an experienced filmmaker to take part - all you need is an idea, imagination and motivation.

Kids can learn about mobile phone recycling, film making, and changing behaviours while having fun.

Click here for more information.

Artology's Fanfare competition is a great opportunity for music-loving teens & young adults.

The task is to create a 30 second composition around the theme ' Something to Say '.

Winners will have their score performed by the QLD Youth Orchestra! We have great supporting lessons too.

Cool Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this website may contain images or names of people who have since passed away.

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Cool Australia educational materials are free units of work and lesson plans that are learning 'recipes' to help guide teaching. They include step-by-step instructions, worksheets, relevant curriculum mapping and real-world content parents can relate to, keeping learning stress free and fun.

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In 2020, both teachers and students are more agile than ever. Learning can take place anytime and anywhere. This special edition is a great guide for how to rethink your classroom - moving from a physical one to a digital one.

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Join our curriculum specialists in a statewide staffroom set up in Microsoft Teams as you prepare to teach remotely. Access support and resources to help students learn from home.

Select a team below and a request will be sent. Your approval will be granted within 24 hours.

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Join our curriculum specialists in a statewide staffroom set up in Microsoft Teams as you prepare to teach remotely. Access support and resources to help students learn from home. Select a team below and a request will be sent. Your approval will be granted within 24 hours.

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Organising Email Notifications In Outlook - creating a Google Classroom Folder

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Organising Email Notifications In Outlook - creating a Google Classroom Folder

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Writing activities for K-10. Free access for T1 and T2, 2020

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Teacher Writing Toolkit - Free for Term 1 & 2, 2020 - Littlescribe

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350+ writing activities and short lesson plans. Teachers can set writing tasks, see students' writing responses and provide feedback. Free Term 1 & 2, 2020.

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I made a quick screen capture video for my class. Most classes are well ahead of my class but this may be useful for them as a reminder.

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Enter institution details with a '.edu' email for a free 60 day school trial Students be granted direct access to our plans. Only educators with .edu emails will be accepted. Student access is only provided by your school or university if they have an existing institution plan with EnhanceTV.

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5-point model to deliver online learning 

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5-point model to deliver online learning 

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Coronavirus: a 5-point model to deliver online learning

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For teachers forced to work from home for the first time because of the coronavirus crisis, remote learning can be daunting. Mark Enser offers five pieces of advice to get you started

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1000s of English Teaching Resources - Teachit English

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70+ eLearning Activities, Templates & Tutorials 

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70+ eLearning Activities, Templates & Tutorials 

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Ed Tech

It's easy to feel anxious, overwhelmed and frustrated if you're asked to create elearning activities and teach remotely because of a school closure.

You might be asking ...

What are my students going to do?

How can they continue learning at a high level?

Can I maintain that teacher/student connection through elearning?

How can I keep up with the demands of elearning?

Some ideas and examples to follow can help. Having some plug-and-play activities to assign students can help, too -- even if you need to adjust them to fit your students' needs.

We've got you covered.

In this post, you'll find 50 elearning activities, templates and tutorials. They'll help you create elearning activities that lend themselves to powerful learning when students are away from school.

Some ideas to keep in mind as you roll out your elearning activities:

Keep communication with students and parents at the forefront. Be ready for questions. Make your communication more thorough than you anticipate.

Simplicity is key. Activities that are too complicated can be hard to follow through without the proper support.

Make space for students' emotional needs, too. Their routine is disrupted. They don't get to see their teacher or their fellow students. Help them to make those connections while they're away.

Don't be too hard on yourself. If you've never taught with elearning activities, it'll be a learning process. Do your best. Learn and improve.

Lean on others for support. Use social media and colleagues in your school/district to brainstorm ideas.

Here are 50 elearning activities, templates and tutorials you can use tomorrow:

Quick Navigation: 70+ Elearning Activities, Templates and Tutorials

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70 elearning activities, templates and tutorials - Ditch That Textbook

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Ed Tech It's easy to feel anxious, overwhelmed and frustrated if you're asked to create elearning activities and teach remotely because of a school closure. You might be asking ... What are my students going to do? How can they continue learning at a high level? Can I maintain that teacher/student connection through elearning?

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Education resources for schools teachers and students - ABC Education

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ABC Education has 5000+ educational games, videos and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more

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How to Set Up a Youtube Channel for School

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How to Set Up a Youtube Channel for School

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by Rebecca Keen

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Wide Open School's mission lives on at Common Sense

With schools back in person, we have closed this dedicated distance-learning site designed to guide families and educators through the sudden shift to remote learning.
Discover More Great Resources for Families & Educators
Common Sense is dedicated to providing teachers and families with free resources to help kids learn, grow, and thrive with media and technology. Join our community for more tips and resources to support kids' learning and healthy development.

More Resources You'll Love

Get more free content like what you found on Wide Open School.
For Families For Educators
Thank You to Our Supporters & Partners

We are grateful to our supporters and partners for helping to bring these resources to kids, families, and educators everywhere during a global crisis. It is a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and a shared commitment to education and digital access for all.

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Wide Open School's mission lives on at Common Sense With schools back in person, we have closed this dedicated distance-learning site designed to guide families and educators through the sudden shift to remote learning. Discover More Great Resources for Families & Educators

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Ursula recommended this fab Zoom guide.

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Zoom Basics - Using Zoom for Classes and Meetings

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Support teaching and learning with reference materials from dozens of authors and estates, literary journals, and high-quality publishers such as Knopf, Houghton Mifflin, New Directions and Copper Canyon Press.